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Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides, center right, and the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Cyprus Colin Stewart, center left, talk after a meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, at a UN compound inside the UN controlled buffer zone at abandoned Nicosia airport in divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday. [Petros Karadjias\/AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Ersin Tatar, the leader of the breakaway entity in the Turkish-occupied north, made some progress Wednesday on fostering trust between their conflict-riven Greek and Turkish speaking communities, agreeing to delve deeper into the dangers posed by minefields and working together on environmental initiatives.<\/p>\n
But the two sides still have a long way to go to formally restart moribund peace talks, with both leaders alluding to the ongoing fundamental rift on the kind of a peace deal each side expects.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement following the United Nations-hosted meeting, Christodoulides and Tatar said they also agreed on restoring neglected cemeteries and setting up a joint group of young people from both sides of the divide to discuss issues relevant to them.<\/p>\n
The measures echoed those the two leaders agreed to pursue in a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Geneva last month that aimed to breathe new life into a peace process on hiatus for nearly eight years. Guterres said he will appoint an envoy tasked with getting formal peace talks restarted.<\/p>\n
The Mediterranean island was divided when Turkey invaded the northern part in 1974 following a failed coup by supporters of a union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence, and has more than 35,000 troops in the island\u2019s northern third.<\/p>\n
Although Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, only the Greek Cypriot south, where the internationally recognized government is seated, enjoys full membership benefits.<\/p>\n
There was no agreement Wednesday on two key trust-building initiatives: building solar energy parks inside sections of a 180 km (120 mile) long UN buffer zone cutting across the island, and adding to the nine existing crossing points along that dividing line.<\/p>\n
Tatar said that he\u2019s hopeful \u201cin time we will be able to achieve\u201d progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy friend Nikos, he\u2019s got his own principles, I want our principles. What is important is to exchange and be positive so that we can achieve things together,\u201d Tatar said.<\/p>\n
Christodoulides suggested Tatar was using the issue of solar energy parks to promote his vision of a partitioned Cyprus. The leaders agreed to meet again later this month.<\/p>\n
The leaders\u2019 remarks pointed to the wide gulf between how the two sides envision a future peace settlement.<\/p>\n
Tatar and Turkey insist a two-state deal is now the only way to resolve one of the world\u2019s most intractable disputes since the \u201cold\u201d model \u2013 a federation made up of Greek and Turkish speaking zones \u2013 is no longer viable after decades of failure.<\/p>\n
Greek Cypriots say any deal that entrenches the island\u2019s partition is a non-starter as it contravenes long-held UN resolutions endorsing a federation.<\/p>\n
They also reject a Turkish and Turkish Cypriot demand for a permanent Turkish troop presence and military intervention rights under any accord, as well as giving the minority Turkish Cypriots veto power over all federal-level government decisions. [AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n